As Wicomico County prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary, The Daily Times and DelmarvaNow.com will offer nine days of coverage, much of it recalling where we were 150 years ago and recounting the journey through time that brought us to where we are today.
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On the occasion of Wicomico County's 150th anniversary, here's a look at some of the oldest businesses, churches and neighborhoods that have survived the test of time.

Houses, neighborhoods and towns

Pemberton Hall, built in 1741, may be the oldest house on record that's still standing in Wicomico County. Located outside the city limits, the hall was built 44 years before Poplar Hill, by Col. Isaac Handy as a home for his family. It was occupied by tenants until the 1960s, when it was purchased and restored by the nonprofit Pemberton Hall Foundation.

Long Hill in Wetipquin, on the county's Westside, is nearly as old. The Maryland Historical Trust list it as having been built in the late 18th century. Like Pemberton Hall and Poplar Hill Mansion, it was also built as a plantation house — this one the home of the Dashiell family. The property is located along the Wetipquin Creek and includes an early family burial ground.

Poplar Hill Mansion, built in 1785, is located in the heart of the Newtown neighborhood and billed as the oldest house in Salisbury, as it survived two major fires that each destroyed most of the town during the 19th century. It was built by Major Levin Handy as a manor house for a 700-acre farm known as Pembertons Good Will.

Today the Federal-style house is operated as a museum with guided tours, and it is available for private events as well as public gatherings hosted by the Friends of Poplar Hill Mansion organization.

Newtown, is the oldest neighborhood in Salisbury and the once posh, high-end neighborhood remains occupied by homeowners and tenants. The Newtown historic district restricts building material and choices to reflect the structures' original appearances.

Newtown came into being after the destructive downtown Salisbury fire of 1860, prompting the construction of houses outside the business district during the next decade.

Camden, also a historic district, is the second-oldest city neighborhood, dating to around the turn of the century. At the north end of Camden Avenue once stood the grand house of Congressman William H. Jackson, completed in 1891 in the Queen Anne style. Before World War II, the property was owned by St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.

Salisbury resident Evelyn Wright, 84, recalls how teen dances were held at what was then known as The Parish House. It was loaned by the church during World War II to the local USO. It subsequently burned down, and today is the site of St. Francis de Sales School.

Next door was a nearly identical, slightly grander version of the Jackson house, once the home of Sen. William P. Jackson, son of the congressman. It served as a rectory for the Catholic priests until it was torn down and replaced with the brick building that serves as rectory and church office.

The Camden area, also a historic district that was established more recently, extends roughly from Carroll Street south to College Avenue.

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Adkins Historical Museum photo. When this photo was taken in the early 1900s, Mardela Springs was famous for its free flowing mineral water, said to have "healing powers." Water from the well, located on Main Steet, was bottled and sold. For years it was a must-stop site in the community, but fell out of favor as time passed. Water still flows from the spring which is now owned by the Westside Historical Society.(Photo: File photo)

Mardela Springs, Whitehaven and Allen are among the oldest towns in Wicomico County. Mardela Springs, originally known as Barren Creek, land that was included in Lord Baltimore's grant in 1632, may be the oldest town in Wicomico County. It was settled by English Catholics in 1634 and saw shipbuilding activity early on, but the town's real claim to fame was its springs, reputed to have healing powers.

Whitehaven dates back to 1668, when a port was to be established on the south side of the Wicomico River. However, settlers felt the north side was a better location and, with the consent of the Maryland Assembly, set up as "White Haven" until 1708, when it was officially incorporated as Whitehaven.

The village of Allen first appears on maps in 1702, 30 years earlier than Salisbury, according to an entry in "What's Past is Prologue," a book by the county on the occasion of its centennial celebration in 1967.

Businesses

Although a number of Wicomico businesses established in the earliest days of the county survived well into the 20th and even 21st centuries, these are some of the oldest continuously operating businesses in the county.

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Kuhn's Jewelers in the Downtown Plaza in Salisbury.(Photo: FIle photo)

Kuhn's Jewelers is located on the Downtown Plaza end of Main Street — in the same location it has occupied since it was established in 1853 and continuously owned and operated by successive generations of the same family. The first building on that site was destroyed by fire. The company rebuilt in 1893, according to Susan Purnell, the current proprietor and third-generation in the business. Purnell also pointed out that Kuhn's is not merely Wicomico's oldest continuously operating business, it is also the fourth-oldest independent jeweler in the country.

Holloway Funeral Home P.A. was established in 1883 by Samuel J.R. Holloway and continues operating under the leadership of a third generation of the Holloway family.

R.D. Grier & Sons is as nearly as old as Wicomico County, a family-owned and operated machine shop and industrial supply operation located on East Church Street. Established in Salisbury in 1888, the company president is now Todd Grier Jr., the fourth generation in his family to lead the business.

E.S. Adkins & Co. was established in 1893 by Elijah Stanton Adkins, who in 1871 inherited a sawmill from his father, Stanton Adkins. From its origins, it expanded into wholesale and retail lumber products, millwork until the 1960s and home building from the 1960s until 1991. Adkins added commercial development in 1998. Today, the company deals in land-based holdings (timberland and farmland), as it has throughout the company's history.

Churches

This is a brief look at a few of the oldest and well-known houses of worship in Wicomico County.

Origins in 1672: Wicomico Presbyterian Church

Francis Makemie, founder of the Presbyterians in the United States, began his work on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Wicomico Presbyterian was part of his first Presbytery, which was granted permission to conduct services in 1672 along the Wicomico Riverat Upper Ferry. In 1742, a second meetinghouse was built at the intersection of Quantico Road (now Nanticoke Road) and Rockawalkin Road.

In 1829, the congregation moved to Salisbury, into a new wooden building at Poplar Hill and Broad streets that was moved in 1829 to the site of the present Wicomico Presbyterian between Broad and Chestnut streets.

In 1860, Wicomico Presbyterian was one of a few brick buildings that escaped the first of Salisbury's two great fires.

Origins in 1685: Old Green Hill Church

Also known as Old Green Hill Church, according to "What's Past is Prologue," this parish was founded by the Rev. John Huett, a missionary of the Church of England who arrived on the Wicomico River in 1685 with nothing but himself and his faith. He converted the Wicocomico Indians, built a home for himself along the river near Whitehaven and established this church and what became known as Stepney Parish. This mirrored the growth of Wicomico County, with roughly the same boundaries as the new county.

Origins in late 1700s: Asbury United Methodist Church

Asbury has its origins, according to "What's Past is Prologue," in the late 1700s, with members of the Methodist Society of Salisbury, who walked or rode horseback along Stage Coach Road (now Route 13) to the home of George Parker at Leonard's Mill Pond for Sunday morning services. An Old Red Meeting House was built on North Division Street in 1801, rebuilt and expanded in 1856 for $3,500. Following a fire in 1856, a Division Street site was built of Port Deposit granite.

In 1963, Asbury built a new church and education building on Camden Avenue, where it remains today.

1780: Salisbury Old School Baptist Church

The Rev. Elijah Baker, licensed to preach shortly after he was baptized in 1769, crossed the Chesapeake Bay in 1776 and preached under a large oak tree on the lawn of Dr. Robert Lemmon, the site today of John B. Parsons Home. Lemmon and his son became members of Salisbury Baptist Church, organized in 1780.

That building still stands on East Church Street, although no longer a church.

Allen Memorial Baptist Church was established by a group of Baptists who left this original church to establish a mission church on Division Street. Allen Memorial continues to thrive today, having moved into a larger, more modern facility on Snow Hill Road.

1867: St. Francis de Sales Church

In 1867, a small Catholic chapel was built as part of the Diocese of Wilmington. It was dedicated by Bishop Thomas Becker, and a priest made the trip once a month from Dover. That chapel was destroyed in 1886 by fire that resulted from a thunderstorm. Another chapel was built in 1889.

In 1909, a Methodist church on the corner of Bond and Water streets was purchased, along with an adjoining house. Fr. Louis Jacquier of the oblates of St. Francis became the first resident pastor of the church.

On May 31, 1964, the current church on Riverside Drive was dedicated to serve a growing congregations.

1884: St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church

St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church was established in 1884 in north Salisbury under the pastorate of the Rev. A.J. Spencer. It moved to the Newtown area in 1886, where a church was constructed on Water Street in 1886. In 1899, it moved to East Church Street.

On Oct. 7, 1906, a new church was dedicated. But the church had to be sold to make way for the construction of Route 13 business, and so St. Paul moved to its present site on Delaware Avenue.

1925: Beth Israel Congregation

From the turn of the century, religious services for people of the Jewish faith were held in various locations in Salisbury, including a circa 1900 building on Main Street known as "the old synagogue" and the second floor of I.L. Benjamin's downtown store. In 1925, under the leadership of Benjamin and Samuel S. Feldman, Beth Israel Congregation was established in Salisbury to serve the nine Jewish families living in Wicomico County, although there was no permanent synagogue until after World War II.

In 1951, the congregation moved into its present location at the corner of Wicomico Street and Camden Avenue.

1913: Salvation Army

The Salvation Army came to Salisbury in 1913, and moved into a wooden structure on Washington Street. According to the 1934 directory, Dr. Seth Hurdle, director of the Wicomico County Health Department, opened a baby clinic that met at the Salvation Army headquarters once a week. Mothers who brought their babies were given dietary advice, the babies were given examinations and, when necessary, medical treatment was dispensed.